Child tobacco pickers in Malawi are being regularly exposed to extremely high levels of nicotine poisoning, according to a new report by international children’s organisation Plan.

The report ‘Hard work, little pay and long hours’ reveals that child labourers, some as young as five, are suffering severe physical symptoms from absorbing up to 54 milligrams a day of dissolved nicotine through their skin - the equivalent of 50 average cigarettes.

Pictorial tobacco warning labels are essential for communicating health risks to smokers, a report by the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project (the ITC Project) has found.

The report, FCTC Article 11 Tobacco Warning Labels, found that graphic pictorial warnings were more effective than text only warnings because they: are more noticeable; increase thoughts about the harms of smoking; have more impact on smokers; and lead to more smokers quitting or intending to quit smoking. Read full story.